Air powered hair cutter



Nov. 14, 1944. E. F. sARvER AIR POWERED HAIR CUTTER Filed April l5, 19452 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY Nov. 14, 1944. f E. F. sARvER AIR POWERED HAIRCUTTER Filed April l5, 1943 n 2 Sheets-Shea? 2 /f/NVENTOR Emme f.-arver.

BY f,

ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 14, 1944 l I UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE AmPOWERED HAIR CUTTER Emmett F. Sarver, Wichita, Kans., assignor ofone-half to 0. W. Wortman, Wichita, Kans.

Application April 15, 1943, Serial No. 483,132 9 Claims. 30-41) Thisinvention relates to pneumatically oper- 3. Formed on the .cylindricalshell, diametrically ated hair cutters and has for its principal objectsopposite the perforations, is a tubular neck 6, the to provide a simple,compact, cool-operating,'and top of which extends substantially oppositethe self-cleaning structure that -is readily operable lowermost of theapertures 5, as best illustrated l and not harmful to the skin. .5 inFig. 3. The lower portion of the neck joins Other objects of theinvention are to provide the wall Il adjacent the lowermost row ofaperfor application of actuating air directly upon the tures to form apassageway 9 having connection movable cutting elements; and to utilizethe .with the rotor chamber through Va slot-like port actuating air forfacilitating entrance of hair II. The neck 6 terminates in a handle I2and -v f into the cutter, for eifectingremoval of the cut l carries anipple i3 for attaching one end of a hair and for facilitating thedispersion of heat flexible hose or duct il, having its opposite endgenerated incidental to operation of the device. connected with asuction pump later described.

In accomplishing these and other objects of The exterior surface of thehandle may be suitthe invention,y hereinafter pointed out, I have ablyknurled as` shown in Fig. l; provided improved details of structure, thepre- The ends of the rotor chamber are provided ferred forms of whichare illustrated in the acwith internal threads I5 for receiving theexcompanying drawings, wherein: ternal threads I6 of disks Il which areturned Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a. hair cutter coninto the endsof the cylinder to complete closure structed in accordance with thepresent invenof the rotor lchamber and retain the rotor I8 now tion. tobe described.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the hair cutter, a por- The rotor I8 is bestillustrated in Fig. 4 and intion of which is broken away and shown inseccludes a cylindrical body of a length adapted to tion to betterillustrate the cutter bar elements be received lbetween the ends. Il,and of smaller and one of the journals for mounting the rotor. diameterthan the internal diameter of the rotor Fig. 3 is an enlargedcross-sectional view 25 Chamber- Formed in the rOtOr bQdy arelongituthrough the hair cutter. dinal groovesA la larranged radiallywith respect Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the rotor body to the axisof the rotor and having side faces 20 showing one of the cutter bars inposition and 2l and bottom faces 22 for supporting bars therein. 23. Thebars 23 are substantially coextensive Fig. 5 is a sectional view throughone form of -30 with the rotor body and havefside faces 24 and suctionpump by which the cutter may be actuclosely engaging the side faces 2qand 2l of ated. the grooves in such a manner that the bars 23 Fig. 6 is`a fragmentary cross-sectional view are slidable therein to supportcutter bars 26 in through a hair cutter having a modied form of contactwith the inner surface of the rotor chamcutter bar elements. ber.

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a modi- The cutter bars 26comprise elongated strips fled form of the invention employing anoscillahaving arcuate outer faces 21 corresponding in tory type ofcutter. radius to the rotor chamber and having reversely Fig. 8 is aface View of the form of invention arranged' inner arcuate faces 2'8 ofva radius shown in Fig. 7. adapted to intersect with the outer faceszljin Fig. 9 is a sectional view through the cutting cutting edges 29and 30. The cutter bars are of head of a further modied form ofinvention, the a Width substantially corresponding to the slide cutterelement being adapted for reciprocation, bars 23 so that they arereceivable Within the Fig. 10 is a face view of the form of the inven-45 grooves of the rotor when the slide bars are retion illustrated inFig. 9. tracted. The rounded faces 28 of the cutter bars Referring morein detail to the drawings:A are journaled Within correspondingly shapedI designates a hair cutter constructed in ac:- grooves 3l formed in theouter edges of the bars cordance with the present invention, and which23. whereby the Cutter bars are adapted t0 pivot includes a shell 2shaped to provide a substan- 50 and maintain the outer faces 2T inconstant contially cylindrical rotor chamber 3 having a relatact withthe inner surface of the rotor chamber' tively thin wall 4. The wall 4has a plurality of to' form a substantially leakproof seal thereberowsof apertures 5 covering, for example, a quartween.

ter thereof and of a size adapted to pass hair The slide bars 23Ordinarily retain' the Cutter into the cylindrical chamber when theperforated bars 26 in Contact with the wall of the Cylindrical face ismoved over the skin as illustrated in Fig. chamber responsive tocentrifugal force. In order mounting elevators r44 is rotatably mounteda to avoid possible sticking of the slide bars, the bars are preferablyarranged in pairs and the bars of each pair are interconnected by pushrods 32 which are freely slidable within bores 33 extending between thebottoms of the diagonally opposed grooves as best illustrated in Fig. 3.The free ends of the push rods 32 are loosely fitted within sockets 34formed within the inner edges of the slide bars 23, so that there isslight relative movement between the bars and ends of the rods. In orderthat the cutting edges 29 and 30 are exposed when the cutter bars areImoved across the perforated section of corner edges of the slide bars 23are beveled as indicated at 34 and 35.

The rotor, equipped with the cutters as above described, ismounted'eccentrically of the axis of the rotor chamber on journals 36and 31 asbest illustrated in Fig. 2. comprise screws 38 having threadedShanks 39 engaging threads in openings disks I1. Theends of the screwsare pointed at 4I to engage in conical sockets. 42 provided in the ends`of the rotor as shown in Fig. 4. The outer ends" A of the journals'have collar portions 43 and 45 which are retained in frictional contactwith the disks I1 by heads 45 of the journals.. The elevators are in theform of disks substantially 'corresponding' in diameter to the.diametrof the shell] and have eccentrically arranged openings l43Athrough which the collar portions of the journalsV extend. It is thusapparent that the elevator disks are mounted eccentrically ofthevaxisAof the cylinder in vsuch a manner that the may be'moved with respect tothecylinderto bring theperipheral faces 41 thereof into projectingrelation with respect to theapertured section of the shell. When therotor assembly is mounted in the rotor chamber,

- a side thereofclosely contacts the wall of the rotor chamberadjacentthe passageway 9 so that a substantially crescent-shapedpassageway 48 is provided on the opposite side of the rotor and which'is divided by the slide and cutter bars into a plurality of chambers 49,50, I and 52 which vary in volume according to their position in thepassageway 48. To break the vacuum ahead of the slide bars after thebarspass .the port II, the shell is provided with apertures53 and 54 as bestshown in Fig. 3. The cutter thus described may be connected with asource of suction, for example, a water driven air pump as illustratedin Fig. 5, or theflexible duct maybe connected with` the intake manifoldof an internal combustion engine whereby the razormay be adapted for useof travelers.

The journals preferably the shell, the outer.

into the path of 40 in the respective The pump snowman Fig. is mustratedto better describe the operation of the hair cutter. The pump maybe ofordinary gear type and includes a housing 55 having a. gear chamber 58in which pair of meshing gears 51 and58, the teeth 58 of .which move inclose contact with opposite end walls and 6I of the gear chamber.- Theupper portionof the housing has a manifold 62 connected with ends of thegear chamber through ports 63 and EL The manifold 62 has a neck 85adapted .to be slipped over the spout 66 of a faucet 61, the neck 65being sealed with the spout 66 by a sutable gaskets.. The flexibleconnection I4 connects with a port B9 located in the upper centralportion of the gear chamber. The gear chamber also has an outlet througha spout 10.

It is apparent that when water is discharged under pressure into themanifold, water discharges through the ports 63 and 64 to act upon theteeth of the gears and effect rotation of the gears in the direction ofthe arrows. Since the gears are in meshing relation, they cooperate withthe upper portion of the gear chamber to provide a variable capacitychamber which effects movement of air from the cutter through theiiexible duct I4 and port II.

The form of cutter bar shown in Fig. 6 is similar to the structure justdescribed, with the exception that the slide bars have bead-like ribs21' and the cutters have socket-like grooves 28 to receive the ribs 21'.

In using a cutter constructed and assembled as described, the aperturedsection thereof is moved over the skin in such a manner that the hairsare projected through the apertures and the cutter bars which sever theprojecting ends. The severed ends are drawn by the rush of air throughthe port I I, passageway 9, and flexible duct I4 and discharged with thewaterfrom the discharge spout 1I l of the vacuum pump.

Attention is directed to the fact that the atmospheric air rushingthrough the apertures facilitates entrance of the hairs and assures asubstantially clean shave with a minimum of passages of the cutter overthe skin. The expansion of air drawn through the perforations in passingfrom atmospheric pressure to a lower pressure causes a small drop intemperature and the volume of air flowing through the shell ofthehousing carries off heat of friction generated incidental to operation,s o that the device is cool in operation and avoids discomforts whereheat of friction is accumulative. Since the air stream carries away thesevered hairs, there is no clogging of the cutter or the usual annoyanceof loose hair. When shaving, the apertured face of the shell wouldordinarily be supported in close contact with the skin, however, thecutter may be adjusted by swinging the elevators 44 and 45 into positionso as to space the apertured face a selected distance from the skin.

The form of invention shown in Fig. '7 employs an oscillatory type ofcutter blade 12 arranged to swing on a pivot 13 within a substantiallysemi-cylindrical compartment 14 so that the cutting edges 15 of theblade move in shearing contact with hair projected through the apertures16 in the arcuate face 11 of the housing. A valve chamber 18 is providedon the top of the housing and is connected with the chamber 14 onopposite sides of the pivot 13 by ports 19 and 89. The ports arealternately opened and closed by a D shaped valve top thereof connectedwith the valve chamber 18. The valve is operated by a'iinger 83projecting upwardly from the oscillatory cutter to shift the valve foralternately opening and closing the ports 19 and 80. The valve chamberis connected by a duct with a suitable source of suction as in thepreferred form of the invention. It is obvious that suction acts on aside of the oscillatory cutter through the uncovered ports 19 and 88whereby the vacuum causes the cutter to swing in the direction of theuncovered port to shear -off any hair protruding through the'apertures.

BI having a port 82 in the end of the ascacec other port so .that thevacuum the opposite side of the cutter.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 9, the cutter 86 is slidablymounted within a shell 81 having a substantially flat apertured bottomface 88'. The Y comprising a plurality of spaced blades 99 havingcutting edges 90 movable over the inner surfaces of the section 88. Theblades are connected by a bar 9| that carries aspring 92 having flexiblengers 93 and 94 on the ends thereof which engage a valve plate 95 toretain the cutting edges of the blades in cooperative shearing contactwith the apertured section 88 and-the valve plate 95 in position toalternately open and close ports 96 and 91 that connect the respectiveends of the cutter chamber with a manifold chamber 98. The manifoldchamber 98 has a connection with a source of suction through a port 99.

With this arrangement the cutter is recipro- It -will be noted that ineach instance the actuating air acts directly upon the cutter elementsto effect movement thereof so that the cutter is operated with a mlmmumof.

relatively large volume of air drawn through the apertures tends to liftthe hairs their entrance through the apertures into concontact with themovable member and for dis-v charging hair severed by the cutting edges.

2. A hair cutter including a shell having a substantially cylindricalcutter-` compartment procutter having cutting edges cooperating with thecutting edges of the apertures for cutting hair projecting through saidapertures, and means connected with the chambers for drawing said airthrough the apertures to facilitate entrance of the hair to be cut andfor effecting movement of the cutter to sever thev projected hair.

3. A hair cutter including a shell having a rotor compartment providedwith apertures in a is elective on v slide bars and effect wall thereof,the edges of said apertures forming cutting edges, a rotor body in therotor compartment, cutter bars slidably carried by the rotor body andhaving cutting edges cooperating with the first named edges, meansjournaling the rotor body eccentrically of the rotor compartment, andpneumatic means connected with the shell for drawing air through theapertures to act upon said cutter bars and effect rotation of the rotorbody.

4. A hair cutter including a shell having a rotor compartment providedwith apertures in a wall thereof, the edges of said apertures formingcutting edges, a rotor body in the rotor compartment, slide bars carriedby the rotor body, means journaling the rotor body eccentrically of therotor compartment, cutter bars having self aligning connection with theiirst named bars and provided with cutting edges movable in contact withthe wall of said rotor compartment, and pneumatic means connected withthe shell for drawing air through the apertures to act on said rotationof the rotor.

5, A hair .cutter including a shell having a rotor compartment providedwith apertures in a Wall thereof, the edges of said apertures formingcutting edges, a rotor body inthe rotor compartment having longitudinalradially arranged grooves, bars slidable in said grooves, meansjournaling the rotor body eccentrically of the rotor compartment, cutterbars having self aligning connection with the slide bars and providedwith cutting edges movable in contact with the wall of said rotorcompartment, and pneumatic means connected With the shell for drawingair through the apertures to effect rotation of the rotor.

6. A hair cutter including a shell having a cut ter compartment providedWith apertures in a wall of the compartment forming cuttingedges,

` a cutter reciprocably supported in the shell and connected with saidcutter compartment, a valve in the valve compartment for alternatelyopening and closing said ports, and suction means connected with thevalve compartment for eiecting reciprocation of the cutter.

7. A hair cutter including a shell having a cutter compartment providedwith apertures in a wall of the compartment forming cutting edges, acutter reciprocably supported in the shell and having cutting edgesmovable over the cutting edges formed by said apertures, means on theshell forming a valve compartment having ports vconnected with saidcutter compartment, a-valve in the compartment for alternately openingand closing said ports, valve suction means connected with the valvecompartment for effecting reciprocation of the cutter, and a connectionbetween the cutter and the valve to effect reciprocation of the valveresponsive to movement of the cutter.

8. A device of the character described including a shell having anapertured wall portion for admitting hairvinto the shell and providingcutting edges, a cutter element having a cutting edge cooperating withthe saidedges to cut ofi hair entering the shell, said cutting elementhaving impelling surfaces on opposite sides of said cuttingedge, meansmounting the cutter element in said shell for movement of the cuttingedge on said cutting element lrelative to cutting edges of saidapertured wall portion, and means for producing movement of air from theshell on the side 'of one 0I seid surfaces to induce movement of air'into the shell through seid epertured well the other impelling surfacefor element in the portion to act on producing movement ofthe cuttershell.

tingedge that ere carried thereby. means mounti ing the cutter elementin seid shell for movement '9.` A device ot the character describedinclud-l ing a shell having an apertured wall portion for admitting hairinto the shell and providing cutting edges, a cutter element carrying acutting edge cooperating with said edges to cut off hair" enter-ing theshell,'said cutting element having impelling surfaces on oppositesides'of the cutof the cutting edge on seid cutting element rela.- tiveto cutting edges o! said epertured well portion, e nexibie ductconnected witn'the sneu on surface.'

ELMIIE'I'I F. SARVER.

